THE hybrid couple was speeding down the highway and Ingrid bounced her leg in the passenger seat anxiously while biting her thumb nail.

Klaus reached over the seat and grabbed her hand, bringing it toward his lips to place a comforting kiss on the back of her hand. She looked over at him but didn't stop bouncing her leg. "I should have driven." Ingrid mumbled impatiently.

Klaus laughed and shifted his eyes back and forth between her and the road. "Had I let you drive, you would've gone over a hundred miles per hour."

"Your point being?" Ingrid questioned with a raised eyebrow, her tone a bit snappy. "We would have been there four hours ago."

"You've waited this long, you can be patient for another four hours." He remarked with another laugh causing her to scoff and roll her eyes. "Believe me, I want nothing more than to see our daughter but if you speed like a maniac then we are sure to find ourselves in an avoidable predicament."

She grumbled lowly to herself about how despite being right, he didn't have to bring it up.

After what felt like forever, Klaus pulled into the driveway of the safe house and Ingrid flung the passenger side door open and jumped out before he could even park the car. Klaus gaped at her in surprise as he slammed on the breaks. "Ingrid!"

Elijah and Rebekah walked off the porch toward the front lawn and Ingrid slowly walked toward them, her heart pounding in her ears and her hands clentched into clammy fists. She stood a few inches in front of Elijah and just stared at Hope.

He saw the tears pooling in her dark eyes and smiled encouragingly. Ingrid hesitantly reached a hand toward her daughter, too scared to touch her in fear that it was just a dream. Rebekah nodded at Ingrid, assuring her that it was alright and Elijah wasted no time handing the infant off to her mother.

Ingrid held Hope in her arms and took an audible deep breath that she didn't know she had been holding in. She hugged Hope to her body and closed her eyes, tears escaping from the corner of her eyes. "Hi, baby. Mommy's here."

Behind her, Klaus was near tears and too overwhelmed to move. Ingird turned around and walked toward her husband with an overjoyed smile. "Look that's daddy."

Klaus held his hands out and Ingrid passed their daughter to him. Hope cooed happily and the couple laughed as Klaus held the back of her head and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

The Mikaelsons stood in the yard and began to discuss the newest revelations they had just learned while they continued to build the bonfire. Ingrid was holding onto Hope and swaying back and forth on her feet.

"Curse on the first-born? What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Rebekah questioned on confusion and placed a large stick into the bonfire.

"Well, according to Finn, our sister Freya didn't die of plague. She was taken as payment by our aunt Dahlia, who then cursed all Mikaelson first-borns for eternity." Klaus explained as he paced the grass in front of his siblings.

"Is any of this true?" Rebekah questioned, furrowing her eyebrows.

Elijah began undoing the buttons of his dress shirt and rolled up his sleeves. "It is if we are to believe Finn, who learned it from the bastion of truth-- our mother."

"It is true." Ingrid replied with a stern expression and glanced at Klaus, who frowned. "For years Esther has been thwarting any attempt I had at having children."

Elijah placed a hand on her shoulder, frowning in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"Well, no wonder Finn hates us. He lost the sister he adored, and instead got a judgy pack of siblings who found him unbearably dull." Rebekah commented with a pointed look as Elijah smirked over at her.

"What exactly are our chance of running into Dahlia any time soon?" Ingrid questioned curiously and shifted Hope onto her other hip. "Statistically?"

"The fable's over a thousand years old. Dahlia is long dead." Elijah assured her and placed two large branches into the bonfire.

Ingrid nodded her head slowly and pursed her lips. "Oh, you mean like Esther?" She asked and Elijah looked up at her with a flattened lip expression, knowing she had a point.

Klaus turned toward them with a face of determination. "No one's going to hurt Hope, because no one's going to find her." He paused for a beat and smirked in amusement. "There's enough wood, Rebekah. You'll burn down the whole bloody state of Arkansas."

Rebekah rubbed her hands together excitedly as she returned to where her siblings were standing. "Well, we're just missing a key ingredient!"

Klaus sighed and rolled his eyes. "No, we're not."

"Yes, we are, Nik!" She argued sternly and turned to the other two. "Back me up!"

Elijah crossed his arms over his chest and laughed. "I suspect Niklaus would rather choke on the ashes."

"I concur." Ingrid remarked with a chuckle and shook her head. "This never was Niklaus' favorite tradition."

"Come on, Nik! We need to do this. We have to write down our wishes. It was Kol's favorite part when we were kids!" Rebekah used to further her argument, hoping to convince her brother.

"It's further evidence as to why we should ignore it!" Klaus argued with a shake of his head.

"Come on, Niklaus. It'll be Hope's first bonefire." Ingrid reminded him with a convincing look but didn't wait for a response. "I say we do it." She then turned on her heels and walked inside for paper.

Rebekah, pleased, turned to her brothers and smiled smugly as Elijah laughed from his spot.

Klaus was holding Hope and sitting at the dining room table. He was so busy doting on Hope that he didn't take his eyes off of her when Ingrid walked into the room. Staring at him in admiration, she sat across from him and grinned. "I am so in love with you right now."

He laughed and watched Hope bounce up and down on his lap. Ingrid set a pad of paper down on the table and laughed as their daughter cooed. "She loves you." The female hybrid commented happily.

"Who wouldn't love me?" Klaus questioned smugly with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes overdramatically, Ingrid laughed and pursed her lips. "Yeah, I don't know about that one, my love..."

He laughed again and shook his head. Bringing Hope closer to his body, he finally looked at his wife and smiled happily. "What can I do for you, love?"

She held out the paper and pen to him with a raised eyebrow. "Here."

"I don't want to participate in this silly wish game." He remarked in disinterest and gave her a look.

Ingrid gave him a non-negotiable expression and held them out again. Rolling his eyes, he sighed and relented. She smiled in victory and dropped the materials on the table before standing up and holding her hands out. Hope cooed and Ingrid laughed happily. "Yes. Come to, mommy." She said in a cheery tone and took her daughter from Klaus.

Klaus watched Ingrid place a gentle kiss on Hope's shoulder and beamed at her affectionately. "See, now I am so in love with you."

Ingrid looked at him and grinned, rolling her eyes jokingly. Klaus laughed and grabbed the pen, writing his wish and folding it up. He held the slip out to her then motioned for Hope. "Now give me back my daughter."

Taking the slip from him, she moved Hope out of his reach and taunted him. "No. It's my turn." She replied and walked out of the room as Klaus chuckled at her.

They all regrouped outside where Klaus had just lit a match to light the bonfire. Rebekah rushed outside to join them with a wide grin. "Hey! Look what I found!" She held up a Polaroid camera and rejoined the group. "I wonder if it'll work?"

Klaus sighed with his hands on his hips and turned away from her. "Oh, bloody hell."

Rebekah walked toward him and handed it to him. "Come on, let's try it! Hey, Nik, do you think you can cram us all into a selfie?"

"Oh, Niklaus is a virtuoso at cramming his family into confined spaces." Elijah commented in a snarky tone with a smirk causing Ingrid to laugh loudly.

"Well, I'm just glad I traveled hundreds of miles to visit my mentally ill brother, only to have him insult me to my face." Klaus remarked in a fake offended voice and grabbed the camera from Rebekah.

"Oh, come on, just take the picture!" Rebekah urged quickly in excitement.

Klaus sighed in annoyance and held up the camera to take a picture of the five of them together. Everyone was smiling, Hope including, except for Klaus, who remained blank-faced. They all watched as the photo develops and remained huddled.

Rebekah looked over his shoulder and smiled happily. "Aw, see? I wish that it could always be like this."

"If wishes were horses..." Elijah started the quote as he looked at the photo.

Klaus sighed ruefully and finished it for him. "...Beggars would ride." He gazed at the photo before turning to his family with an unhappy look. "You realize we'll have to burn it. You want me to make a wish for the family, Rebekah? I wish it didn't have to be like this. But, it does." He said in disappointment and handed the photo to Ingrid. "We can't risk it falling into the wrong hands."

Ingrid nodded in agreement and took a good, long look at the photo before reluctantly throwing it into the bonfire.

Rebekah watched the picture burn with a frown and looked at the three of them, unhappy about their current situation. "No! This isn't right. We deserve this. We've earned this." She said emotionally before getting an idea. "I won't let it slip away. I know what to do to stop Esther." She informed them with tears in her eyes.

"Rebekah, no--" Elijah began to argue in a tense manner.

"I'm going to take her deal. And, when I do, I'm taking her down with me." She assured them sternly and her and Klaus stared at each other as she gulped anxiously.

They then sat around the living room to go over Rebekah's plan as Ingrid fed Hope a bottle.

"It'll work. She will be distracted during the spell. She'll be vulnerable." Rebekah told them in a stern tone.

"No. If we kill her, she body-jumps." Klaus argued while pacing in front of them.

"Then stop her from jumping!" Rebekah offered her idea and Ingrid scoffed.

"That is a little easier said than done, Rebekah." The brunette woman informed her with a pointed expression.

"If I knew how to bloody stop her from jumping, don't you think I would have happily murdered her ages ago?" Klaus questioned in aggravation.

"Well, ages ago, you didn't have a Harvest girl or a Mikaelson witch." Rebekah pointed out and looked between them. "Kol knows all of her tricks."

Elijah scoffed and stared down at the floor, actively listening to his siblings argue. "Now, you're both insane."

"Hardly, Elijah. It was your idea!" Rebekah snapped causing the hybrids to look at him in shock. "You're the one who said she needed a win, and if we get this right, then she'll have one."

Elijah looked up at them, visibly stressed, and stared at his sister. "And if we get it wrong, you're no longer in your own body!"

"Would that be the worst thing? You were ready to do it yourself." Rebekah commented at the couple once again gaped at him, surprised and concerned to hear this news.

"It was a foolish moment, and one that you sagely dissuaded me from." Elijah defended himself, not making eye contact with Klaus as he spoke in a sheepish tone.

Rebekah sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Hopefully, we'll get lucky and stop the spell before I jump."

"And, if we're not, you'll get what you always wanted." Klaus remarked darkly and looked over at Rebekah, who swallowed nervously, confirming his suspicions. "I mean, that's what you're saying, isn't it? You're willing to lose."

"I'm willing to risk losing, yes." She replied in a strong voice, nodding her head.

Klaus sighed and stared at her for a moment with teary eyes. "Well, we need to find someone for her to jump into. Someone anonymous. Someone who could disappear with Hope."

"Rebekah, we've been together for centuries. If you were human--" Elijah started to point out the flaws of her plan.

Rebekah interrupted him and rolled her eyes. "When I'm old and wrinkly, you can dump me back into my old body. Nik already has a coffin he can store me in." She took a jab at him causing Klaus to smirk and Ingrid to chuckle to herself.

Elijah crossed his arms and began to argue against her plan. "But to trust Kol?"

"It's not about trust, Elijah. It's about finding the proper leverage." She explained sternly, not backing down from her postion.

"She's right. Kol will do what's best for Kol-- we just have to meet his price." Klaus mused slowly and pulled out his phone, dialing a number.

Later on, Rebekah and Klaus were getting ready to head back to New Orleans. Ingrid was standing on the porch with her hands on her hips. She licked her lips and looked at the SUV in the driveway. "Are you absolutely positive you don't want me to come?"

"No, love. You deserve to stay here and spend time with our daughter." Klaus responded with a genuine smile and walked toward her. "Just promise me to give her some extra love for me."

She grinned with a nod and glanced up at him. "I promise, darling." She then looked at him with a serious expression and grabbed his hand, placing a kiss on his palm. "Please... please be careful and make sure to keep me updated, yes?"

"Yes." He agreed with a nod of guarantee and kissed her forehead. "I promise."

"Good." Ingrid praised with a small sigh and nodded her head. "Good."

"Please don't worry." Klaus pleaded softly and rested a hand on her cheek. Ingrid leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. He rubbed the pad of his thumb across the soft skin of her cheek. "I'll be back soon."

"I know." She replied in a quiet tone of voice and reopened her eyes to look at him. "I love you, Niklaus."

"I love you, Ingrid." He tenderly replied and kissed her devotedly on the lips. He hummed happily as he pulled away and slowly opened his eyes. "I would love nothing more than to stay here with you and Hope..." he said in a low groan then sighed. "...but we have to do this."

"I know, Niklaus." Ingrid reassured him and placed her hand over his. "It's okay. One day we'll be able to stay all together." She remarked with a wide grin and stared up into his light blue eyes. "For now, we have to do what is necessary to make that happen. Now go before Rebekah comes over here and drags you back." She said with a laugh and grabbed his hand.

He laughed wholeheartedly and kissed lovingly again before giving her one last, longing look and walking toward the car. Ingrid watched him go and waved goodbye as he back out of the driveway. Both Klaus and Rebekah waved at her prior to speeding off down the road.

Sighing heavily, she crossed her arms over her chest and walked back into the house. Elijah smiled comfortingly at her and kissed her temple. "It's alright. Niklaus knows what's he's doing." He reassured her then smirked with a small laugh and Ingrid joined in. "Care for a drink?" He offered kindly and walked toward the kitchen.

"Of course." She replied in a tired manner and sat down in one of the armchairs. "Is she asleep?"

"Yes." He answered with a smile and walked out with two wine glasses in hand. Handing on to her, he unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat across from her. "It is... unusually quiet."

Ingrid chuckled and sipped from her glass. "Hmm... yes. I wouldn't hold your breath though. It's bound to get chaotic."

He laughed and opened his mouth to respond but his phone rang. Furrowing her eyebrows, he held a finger up and set his glass down on the table in front of them. He looked at the caller ID and answered the phone. "Yes, Hayley?"

"My wolves." The Crescent wolf replied from the other end. "I think I figured out a way to release them from the witches." She said happily and Elijah paused, surprised by this news. "They could control their turning without the rings, and bring peace. But, there's a catch... I have to marry Jackson."

Ingrid looked up from her wine and looked at Elijah, worried and angry on his behalf. Elijah was completely stunned speechless as his heart dropped in sorrow.

Hayley, feeling awkward, started speaking rapidly as though she was very anxious about this ordeal. "It's a, um, mystical ceremony, and- and an Alpha bonding ritual...?" She mumbled and stopped for a second before sighing heavily. "Elijah... I know that you and I haven't been close recently, but... you have to know that this isn't about him. I don't love Jackson, but... at the same time, I couldn't marry him and still be involved with you." She explained in an overwhelmed manner and began stuttering again. "I don't know, I should just--"

Elijah cut her off and spoke in a quiet voice. "Marry him."

"What?" Hayley questioned on surprise.

"Marry him." Elijah repeated in a hollow tone and hung up the phone.

Ingrid set her glass down, immediately stood up, and walked toward him, engulfing her brother-in-law in a hug. He gripped onto her shirt as he sobbed into her shoulder. Ingrid held onto the back of his head and rubbed his back with a deep frown. Her heart broke for him despite the fact she knew that it was inevitable. She refused to use the usual I told you so. That wasn't what Elijah needed at that moment.

Ingrid stared at the wall in front of her as a murderous glare slowly crossed her face. Now, she was determined to get the justice Elijah deserved.

---
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-the1andonlytifftiff